"What do you think he's trying to talk to you about?" Hakyun asked, seated on the couch in the living room as Merlin and Chima returned from their joint morning jog. "Me, personally, I think it's about your whole anti-magic thingy."
"Obviously, smarty pants," said Chima as he sat down on a stool in the kitchen area and gulped down a bottle of water Merlin had tossed his way. "What else would it be about?"
"Well, since you asked, there are a couple of things," Hakyun began, obviously taking offense at Chima's words towards him. "There's the possibility that the topic could be solely based on the unprecedented occurrence during the physical assessment. No offense, Merlin, but it's kinda absurd that a mere Academy student could move the way you did. I'm sure the headmaster is wondering where and how you received such advanced training before even getting into the Academy."
Merlin uncorked his bottle of water as he closed the fridge. "I took boxing lessons."
"There's also—" Hakyun cut himself off. "What did you just say?"
Merlin shrugged. "I said I took boxing lessons."
"Oh…" Chima sounded amused.
Hakyun blinked then nudged his glasses upwards. "You're one heck of a mystery, Merlin Tyrrell."
Geez… He sounded like Nora there. However…
"What's the big deal about taking boxing lessons?" Merlin asked, not hiding his curiosity.
Hakyun recoiled. Merlin was not sure he had said anything that warranted such a reaction.
"What are you talking about?" the boy began. "You're a Mage! Yeah, I get it. You can't cast spells, so you can't devote all your time to studying spells. But in its place you should have been focused on strengthening your anti-magic instead, not…boxing."
Well, he had been doing the two, but he got Hakyun's point.
"Why does being a Mage have to stop someone from taking hobbies or learning other things?" Chima chimed in, not in support of Hakyun's words.
"Shut it, brute," Hakyun sneered. "No one asked for your opinion."
"Call me brute one more time, four-eyes, I dare you."
"Call me four-eyes one more time."
Merlin sighed at the exchange, the heat of the lasers shooting out of his roommates' eyes making him uncomfortable. Thankfully, he was reminded that he had somewhere to be when his watch beeped. He gulped the last of the water in his bottle and tossed it into the trash can.
"I'm leaving," he said as he walked towards the door, momentarily putting himself between the intense stares of Hakyun and Chima. At least that did well to quell their brewing animosity for the moment.
"Huh? You're not gonna have your bath first?" asked Hakyun.
"I'm late already," replied Merlin. "It would be disrespectful to delay any longer."
"True," Chima nodded. "Well, get going then. Your sweat is proof of your hard work. Not like a certain someone I know."
"That better not be me you're talking about," Hakyun growled.
Chima turned his way. "I think you should sit and meditate about how your physical assessment went so you get a good grasp on how weak physically you are." Chima flexed his bicep as a means to taunt Hakyun. "Work out, lazy bum."
Hakyun frowned. "O-Of course I'm going to work out. Just give me time."
"Ah… It's the same across countries, isn't it? The words of lazy bums."
They reached for each other's throats again, and Merlin decided he'd watched enough of their back-and-forth for the moment.
"Don't burn our room down while you're at it," he said and left the dorm.
Merlin had made use of the in-built map of the Academy on his smartwatch to find his way to the Headmaster's office. Which was in an elegant building behind a tall black gate in a completely different section from the main Academy building, one so breathtaking that Merlin had stopped to admire it for a moment. It had the Edwardian architecture of every other construct in Prestige Academy, but its ornate works were more detailed, like the ones meant for a castle, and it was surrounded by beds of flowers that spread out in every direction one's eyes could see.
Merlin wondered why the headmaster needed such a building for just his office, but he figured that out as soon as he rang the doorbell and was met at the door by a young lady with silver hair and bangs, a cold gaze, and dressed, surprisingly, in a maid's outfit.
Don't tell me… The headmaster lives on campus?!
"And you are?" the maid asked, her voice low and almost completely dead. Merlin felt no animosity from her, but her apathetic feel almost made him take a step back regardless.
But he remained.
"Merlin Tyrrell," he answered simply. The maid merely tilted her head. His lips twitched. "I'm a first year student, and the headmaster asked me to come see him today."
The maid stared at Merlin for a few seconds, giving him no reply, and making him feel like his soul was being ripped out of his body. Then she said, "Time?"
Merlin blinked himself back. "Nine."
"Time now?"
Merlin wondered why she was asking him this question, but he knew better than to ask. He could see no other attendant around, so the fact that she was working here meant that she was not just any random person. And, besides, the headmaster was an S-Class Mage. If this maid was a Mage, there was no way she was below a B-Class. And…Merlin felt intimidated by her.
"It's nine-fifteen," said Merlin.
"Late," the maid said without even the slightest shift in her demeanor. Merlin was beginning to wonder if she was a robot in human skin, when she suddenly sighed and shifted away from the door. "The headmaster is a busy person," she started. "Nine is nine. Please do not let this lateness repeat itself."
That was rich considering how tardiness had not been a problem for them during the exam and orientation. But since Merlin had come to realize that there were good reasons for that, he didn't dwell on that matter. And, besides, he was the student. He always had to keep to time.
"Understood," said Merlin as he walked into the building.
"And…" the maid continued. "Do dress well next time. And, if possible, have your bath as well."
Merlin flushed.
The headmaster's office was large and sophisticated, with walls lined with wooden panels, shelves, and a portrait of the headmaster, giving the room a stately, old-fashioned feel. And behind a big wooden desk with a high-backed chair, flanked by plants and curtains, were tall windows letting in the golden rays of the morning sunlight.
Merlin was seated on a cushion to the far end of the room, heeding to the intimidating maid's warning of, "do not touch anything and just sit quietly as I get the headmaster for you." If it wasn't because of that, he would have lunged at one of the flower vases standing on the posh tables near the walls and checked them out.
Goodness, an S-Class Mage really lived like a king. Merlin could see the price tags of every single thing in the room through his imaginations. And because of that, he was so engrossed in his thoughts that he didn't notice the headmaster walk in.
"Is there something on my vases?" Words carried by a husky, booming voice snapped Merlin out of his trance. He jumped up at the sight of the headmaster making his way into the office.
"G-Good morning, sir," Merlin greeted stiffly.
"Good morning, Merlin," replied the headmaster as he approached his desk, a face towel hanging from his neck, and his muscles accentuated by bulging veins, visible due to the tank top he had put on. "Well, what are you still doing over there? Hurry on up over here."
Merlin flinched himself back to life and hurried to the headmaster's desk where a pile of papers were stacked upon each other neatly.
The headmaster sat down and gestured at one of the two seats on the other side from him.
"Have yours."
Merlin nodded and sat down. "Thank you."
At that moment a knock came from the other side of the door, and with a reply from the headmaster, the maid walked in, a tray in hand, and on the tray, two teacups and a kettle.
"I hope you like tea," the headmaster said. "It's really good for after morning workouts. I can see that you've had your fair share of that already."
"Haha… It was just a light jog." Merlin scratched the back of his head sheepishly.
The headmaster nodded as the maid put down the tray on a table to the side and poured the tea she'd brought into the cups, offering one to Merlin and one to the headmaster.
"You're well versed in taking care of your body, aren't you? I commend that. Most Mages these days think magic is all there is to being a Mage and discard training their physicality. It's good to know that there's one who's different. Thank you, Eun-Wol." The headmaster received his cup of tea and sipped on it.
As Merlin received his, and offered his thanks, he couldn't help but wonder if the headmaster had forgotten that he was a Deficient Mage.
Why was the man speaking to him like he was no different from the rest of the students who could cast magic?
However, his mind was almost instantly drawn to the teacup he held, and the bold aroma emanating from the pale, golden yellow tea that struck his nose.
He winced.
Truth be told, Merlin was more of a sugar than herbal person. But he was not of the mind to reject the headmaster's kind gesture of offering him tea, so he braced himself to take a sip. He brought the ceramic to his mouth, and let the tea slosh onto his tongue. A slightly sharp bitter taste slapped his tongue, making him wince one more time, but as soon as he swallowed, a subtle sweetness came through, which left behind a lingering warm aftertaste and a smooth mouthfeel.
Merlin couldn't understand why, but he suddenly wanted to take another sip.
"It's always that way at first," the headmaster noted, apparently having watched the whole thing with the tea. He put down his cup. Eun-Wol had long left the office. "This is a lighter brew of ginseng tea, known as Insam-cha in korean, and that's why its color is a pale, golden yellow. A stronger brew would almost look like honey, with a deep amber color instead. It's one of the best teas for after workout because it helps with fatigue recovery and boosting stamina. Other great options are barley tea and corn tea. They—" The headmaster suddenly cut himself off and laughed. "Am I boring you?"
Merlin had been staring at the man in a daze, wondering how he had ended up walking into a lecture on tea by the headmaster of a Magical Academy. It was so unexpected he had almost laughed. But even if he wanted to, he couldn't.
"No, no," he lied as he put down his teacup. "It's fine."
The headmaster smiled, then stroked his mustache as he leaned back on his chair.
"Then… Since I've eaten away most of your time with my rambles, I'll get straight to the point." Headmaster Im Ilseong's expression hardened, and Merlin felt a cold sweat trickle down his back as he swallowed dryly. He would love nothing more than to reach for his teacup at this moment, but his intuition told him that now was not the time. In fact, the time was probably never coming again. "Your anti-magic, how strong is it?"
Merlin breathed in deeply. He stared down at his hands and licked his lips. "I'm not quite sure, but if I'm to estimate, strong enough for an A-Class Mage's Novice, Tier III spell."
Headmaster Im Ilseong blinked, seemingly confused about something for a brief second. "You sound well versed on the categories of spells." He was, but Merlin didn't say anything. He could see why it was weird. His theory scores weren't the best after all. "That aside, what are the limitations of your ability?"
Merlin had no second thoughts about revealing such things to the headmaster. He doubted he could lie or pretend and be successful anyways. In such situations, it was better to just tell the truth.
"I have to be at most thirty steps away from the caster, and, for now, I think I can only cancel out a single spell on that level. I end up injured whenever I successfully cancel a spell way stronger than I am."
"Hmmm…" Headmaster Im Ilseong stroked his goatee this time. "Understood. Then you still have a long way to go."
"I'm sorry, but what's this about exactly, headmaster?" Merlin couldn't hold back his curiosity any longer.
Headmaster Im Ilseong cleared his throat, taking his time. Then he said, "The Cataclysm may not be as far away as we think."
Merlin's chest tightened and his mind whirled at that statement, unsure what the headmaster meant by that. He grimaced.
"I'm not following," he said.
Headmaster Im Ilseong sighed. "It's a long topic. A very long topic that would take a while to be explained to you. But I did not call you here to have every single classified information spelled out to you right this instant. You will come to know about it all in due time. I called you here to give you a task."
Merlin's posture turned rigid on his seat as a quiver stormed his stomach. "What task is that, if I may ask?"
Headmaster Im Ilseong put his fingers together, resting his elbows on his seat's armrest. "Like I said, the Cataclysm may not be as far away as we might think. Things are happening. And you and your mates may be forced to enter into battle faster than is to be expected." Merlin swallowed, his throat even drier than a second ago. "Which is why, before the end of your first year, I want you to have bolstered your anti-magic to the extent that it is able to cancel out an S-Class Mage's Advanced, Tier III spell." Merlin's eyes widened. But the headmaster was not done. He narrowed his eyes and leaned forward. "No. I want you to be able to cancel my spell at the end of the year."